From the glitz and glamour of Beverly Hills’ trendy eateries to the beautiful restaurants overlooking the Pacific Ocean, these hotspots will give you a front-row seat to Tinseltown’s brightest stars.
Here are 10 restaurants and bars to visit in the City of Angels where you may have a chance of sneaking a peek at a celebrity.
The Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air
The Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air.
Hotel Bel-Air
Address: 701 Stone Canyon Road, Bel Air
Why You Need To Go: The Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air is no longer headed up by celeb chef Wolfgang Puck, but it still draws stars who want to retreat from the spotlight.
Tucked away in a private, cozy booth at the back of the al fresco terrace, guests can look over Swan Lake while enjoying California-inspired dishes.
In winter months, the rich and famous head inside the modern dining room for a spot next to the roaring fireplace. Members of Britain's royal family have dined here, according to Seeing Stars, as well as many A-listers including Tom Cruise, Oprah Winfrey, Sharon Stone, Jessica Simpson, Justin Bieber, and many others.
The adjacent Bar & Lounge is dark and discreet, offering late-night libations and bites with leather chairs and a fireplace. It houses vintage Norman Seeff black-and-white portraits of Tina Turner, Cher and Keith Richards.
Fun fact: Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe both lived at Hotel Bel-Air for a time, according to Vanity Fair.
Il Ristorante di Giorgio Baldi
Address: 114 West Channel Road, Santa Monica
Why You Need To Go: This tiny Italian restaurant is the secret spot to see celebrities who live in Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica. It’s a bit hidden, but head down Pacific Coast Highway and make a sharp turn on West Channel Road, and most weeknights you can see Westside-dwelling stars at Giorgio Baldi for old-school Italian comfort food. It's the perfect spot to take out-of-towners who want to watch celebrities up close, with its diners including a mix of stars like Cher, Pierce Brosnan, Brooke Shields, Martha Stewart, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Rihanna, according to People. Their signature dish is a sweet corn agnolotti with white truffle sauce.
Hot tip: Make sure to visit after 8 p.m. for the best chance at spotting a celeb. People reports that Rihanna frequents this restaurant a few times a week if she’s in town.
Craig’s
Address: 8826 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood
Why You Need To Go: Craig’s is among the LA restaurants where celebrities know they will be seen and photographed. It’s the modern Chasen’s, where stars come when they want to be recognized and filmed by TMZ and paparazzi. Traditional American comfort food is the fare, including steaks, seafood, chicken and pasta dishes. Inside, it’s old-school Hollywood with navy leather round booths, white tablecloths and dark wood paneling. Since 2011, famous faces who frequent Craig’s include George Clooney, according to The Travel, as well as Leonardo DiCaprio, Sofia Vergara, Sophie Turner, Selena Gomez, Kaley Cuoco, Alec Baldwin, Bryan Cranston, Kelsey Grammer, Nick Jonas and Kanye West, according to Seeing Stars, while actor Ryan Phillippe is one of its 20 investors.
Visit on Mondays for optimum star sightings.
Nobu Malibu
Address: 22706 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu
Why You Need To Go: Located off the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu is the beautiful Nobu. Sister restaurant to the Nobu located near the Beverly Center in West Hollywood, this beachfront Japanese sushi restaurant is the better of the two to spot stars. Diners can opt to sit on the pretty patio overlooking the ocean or inside in the dimly lit main dining room with a view of the sushi bar. Enjoy Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's famous black cod with miso and yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno. W reports that the Kardashian and Jenner clans are regulars here, especially Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, as well as Courteney Cox, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Jennifer Aniston, Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio. Robert De Niro is also co-owner of Nobu restaurants and resorts.
Catch LA
Address: 8715 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood
Why You Need To Go: Seafood-focused Catch in West Hollywood is full of celebrities as well as models and actors who aspire to be celebrities. This pretty rooftop restaurant is where to go to soak in the trendy LA scene, with lots of greenery all over its terrace and dining room with a retractable roof. Big spenders can opt for the luscious seafood tower and A5 Japanese Miyazaki wagyu. There’s also a wide variety of sushi, seafood and big sharable dishes including a whole roasted branzino and Cantonese lobster. Celebrities that have been sighted at Catch include Mariah Carey, Cindy Crawford, Larry David and Sylvester Stallone.
Catch also just opened a sister Catch Steak restaurant in LA for carnivorous diners.
Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel
Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Beverly Hills Hotel
Address: 9641 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills
Why You Need To Go: The Polo Lounge has been a celebrity destination since it opened in 1941. Old Hollywood stars like Fred Astaire, Marlene Dietrich, Spencer Tracy and Charlie Chaplin graced tables in decades past, according to Bidding For Good, and now you can spot reality television stars and A-listers like Jennifer Lawrence, Jennifer Lopez, Matthew Perry, Jimmy Fallon, George Hamilton, Sharon Stone, Elton John and Richard Gere, according to The New York Times. Clientele can be seen inside lounging on green booths next to beveled mirrors under a striped ceiling, or under the stars on the pretty pink patio with flowering bougainvillea and twinkling lights. To feel like a celebrity, get their signature McCarthy Salad.
Fun fact: The Beverly Hills Hotel, which houses the Polo Lounge, has been the location for a variety of movies including American Gigolo, Shampoo, California Suite, and The Way We Were.
Spago
Address: 176 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills
Why You Need To Go: Spago is well-known for being the site of Elton John’s 1998 celebrity-studded Oscar party and for regular visits from guests like Tom Hanks, Gwen Stefani, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ryan Gosling, and Bradley Cooper, according to Seeing Stars. This location follows the now-closed one-off Sunset, bringing a more elegant atmosphere with the power lunch crowd seated in the patio area with a retractable roof, outdoor fireplaces and olive trees. Here, diners can taste Wolfgang Puck’s famous smoked salmon pizza and schnitzel.
Mashed reports that the original vision for the interior design of the restaurant was even taken from The Flame of Life, a poem by Wolfgang Puck’s ex-wife Barbara Lazaroff.
LAVO Ristorante
Address: 9201 W. Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood
Why You Need To Go: A retractable roof makes star spotting possible both inside and in the skies at LAVO in West Hollywood. Part of the TAO Group of restaurants, here you can get tasty Italian favorites in a unique setting while enjoying interesting people-watching. There are multiple seating areas, including a bustling lounge, but for optimum star sighting, sit in the main dining room with modern chandeliers, brown velvet booths, pretty upholstered chairs and a huge tree centering the room. Choose from a variety of pizzas, pasta, seafood and steak, or order the tableside fileted whole salt branzino. The last time I ate at LAVO, I spotted Halle Berry in a side booth, but other stars who frequent this trendy West Hollywood spot include Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Mario Lopez, Justin and Hailey Beiber and Michael B. Jordan, according to US Magazine.
Unlike its sister restaurants in Las Vegas and New York, however, LA’s LAVO does not have a club attached to it.
Dan Tana’s
Address: 9071 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood
Why You Need To Go: Old-school star hangout Dan Tana’s still lures celebrities in with its red vintage décor, red-checked tables, hanging Chianti bottles and lights and a menu heavy with Italian classics and martinis. Order the tableside Nika’s Caesar salad to watch tuxedo-clad servers make a performance out of a starter course. A bevy of musicians, actors and writers have dined at Dan Tana’s, including George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio, according to Seeing Stars.
Some celebs who are regulars even have dishes named after them, including the George Clooney Milanese veal cutlet, Karl Malden veal scaloppine, Ted Demme chicken cacciatore, Dabney Coleman New York steak and Sinatra steak and peppers.
Chateau Marmont Restaurant
Address: 8221 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood
Why You Need To Go: Chateau Marmont has been a legendary Hollywood hideaway since 1929, modeled after a Loire Valley castle. The restaurant at this hotel on Sunset Boulevard is equally famous, filled with huge chandeliers, dark lighting and cozy couches. The patio is the place to view celebrities while dining on bacon-wrapped dates, Moroccan meatballs and pasta under the pretty palm trees. The once-legendary Bar Marmont is closed, but the restaurant still provides plenty of star sightings, including rumoured visits from George Clooney, Lindsay Lohan, and Johnny Depp, according to California.com.
Many celebrities throughout past decades have even lived at the Chateau Marmont while filming movies, making records and after divorces, according to Architectural Digest, including Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Warren Beatty, Anthony Perkins, Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, Roman Polanski, Susan Sarandon and Robert De Niro. The most famous resident might be John Belushi, who died of an overdose at the resort, Town & Country reports.
